Miscellaneous May

May's events have continued in the Norman household. We celebrated Joe's birthday, but I won't say which year....because I'll be there too in about 6.5 months.

The cupcake is only for the candle-blowing ritual...ice cream dessert was waiting for the full celebration

Natalie finished up a year of dance (recital pictures to come after the performance this coming weekend).

And, we've been working to put in a flower border along the front of the house. Fingers crossed that the flowers will survive in such sandy soil.

A Lupine for the front yard, will be so nice.

Still a work in progress, but the vision is becoming a little clearer

Enjoying the outdoors so much.

 We're loving the warmer weather - here's to hoping it will continue!

The Northshore

A few weeks ago we went on a camping trip to the shore of Lake Superior, know as the Northshore.  I've fallen in love with this area of Minnesota, breathtakingly beautiful.

Tragically, the pictures of our trip were thought lost - but with the wonders of technology, we were able to rescue them :o)  It felt a little like Christmas.  Such a good trip with no photos??  How sad. Glad that was remedied.

We had a great time and were destined to go to the Northshore.  Don't believe me?  Just check out the plaque made just for Joe, as a 'VISITOR'

Of course, what vacation is complete without a little sunbathing??  Here are the girls sunbathing, Minnesota style (fully clothed).

Long hikes were a must....

But there were rewards...

Like swimming Minnesota style.

Of course, we always ended the evening with a fire. Complete with smores.

I'm counting the days until our next trip already.

Spring Programs have Sprung

May, it seems, is a busy month. Natalie had a spring concert at her school, which she was very excited about.

And Linnea had her spring show for Gymnastics.

Both girls did great and had a lot of fun. It's been amazing to watch them over the past months in these activities - we're so blessed :o)

Out to Elm Creek

Today was supposed to be cold and rainy.  Lately, the weathermen have been a bit off.

While the accuracy of the weathermen is debatable, one great thing about Minnesota: Minnesotans' know how to make a great park.

Since it was 65 degrees and sunny, instead of rainy and cold, we ventured to Elm Creek Park today - which has a very cool playground.

 And lots of walking trails.

Notice how big the puppy  is?

With great trees for taking photos...

What a spectacular day.

Egg-tastic

In honor of the Easter holiday and arrival of spring, we had an egg-filled weekend. I believe if we all went in for cholesterol check-ups on Monday, the prognosis would not be good. 

The egg-filled goodness increased exponentially each time the words were uttered "opps, I dropped another one...it's only cracked a little bit" (note - did you notice, only about 6 eggs made it to the final round....if only you knew how many we started with - 18 I believe).  So, egg-salad sandwiches anyone? Or how about a hard boiled egg with your breakfast? On your salad?

In an effort to make Sunday extra special, as it is arguably one, if not the, most important day of the year, we also made gourmet french toast, complete with the egg-based bread, Challah bread. Amazing, if you ever want the recipe for the french toast, let me know.

Soaking for precisely 20 sec on each side in the 'special sauce'

The sugar/egg filled breakfast was followed by a change into our Sunday best and a trip to church.  Complete with pictures...note to self, pics before church are a much better idea :o)

The day ended on a stressful note. We're becoming accustomed to the new phase of parenting where we need to teach responsibility and the importance of meeting deadlines, still working the kinks out on that one (advice anyone?). So, tonight we ended frantically working on a school project that is due tomorrow.  Somehow, I believe this may be more a vision of the future than a fluke, but I will still find the silver lining, because ultimately we did spend time together, we're healthy and happy and are not in want.  That is unless you're Natalie and spill a bucket of pearler beads (sort of on purpose), followed by a lackadaisical effort to clean them up, resulting in a cold dinner.  Yep, we're those parents, with that kind of weekend, which really just makes us normal :o) [I hope]   Happy Easter Everyone!